The present invention regards a lighting system for operating theatres and similar, as stated in the preamble of Claim 1.
Up until now, it has been common practice to use operating lamps that are suspended from the ceiling or are designed as projecting wall fittings or a form of standard lamp, and which, through manual or remote control, can be directed at a desired working area. A disadvantage of these known lamp systems is that they constitute a hindrance to the work of the operating personnel. A further disadvantage of existing lamps in premises (operating theatres) with ventilation discharge and extraction from the ceiling, is that these lamps have an upper side where turbulence and raising of particles will occur, thus creating favourable conditions for bacteria, which naturally is undesirable in an operating theatre, where the aim is total sterility.
The aim of the present invention is to avoid the disadvantages of previously known lighting systems.
Further, the invention aims to provide a lighting system that automatically focuses the light on the site of the operation without manual operation of the light sources, and which may readily be adjusted with regard to light intensity.
It is previously known to remotely control light sources from a control panel via a computer system, cf. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,560, which shows a stage lighting system. Each lamp/lighting unit has a built-in microprocessor that is connected to the control panel via the computer system, the intensity of the light and the degree of light scatter being controlled from the control panel. This is a rather complex system especially designed for use within the theatre, and it is rather unsuitable for and difficult to convert to use in an operating theatre.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,167 describes mechanised movements of lighting units, which movements may be controlled a remote control, and which unit is especially intended for outdoor use.
As mentioned, these known systems are not very suitable for use in an operating theatre, and the aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a system that is suited for use in operating theatres, and which also fulfils the above-mentioned aims.
The above is provided by a lighting system of the type mentioned comprising one or more prefabricated module elements for ceilings and/or walls which elements contain one or more light sources mounted so as to be movable and adjustable, an indicator being held in the operating area or other area, means that receive optical, ultra sound or magnetic signals from said indicator, in which the light is required to be focused and which calculate the position of the indicator, and wherein said means based on the position parameters adjusts and moves light sources towards the desired absolute position or point of focus of the point device.
The light source modules are intended for operating theatres, but may also be used within other areas in which it is desirable for one or more light sources to track an event, e.g. such as an artist on a stage, dancers/ice dancers in a hall or where it is required that lighting should be directable and/or focusable on a work surfaces or events. The system may also be used at sports events where the contestants are to be tracked around a course.
As the module unit can be ceiling elements or wall elements containing one or more light sources that may be directed and focused on certain surfaces, the unit may be installed in existing operating theatres in a simple manner.
Adjustment can be carried out manually via an operating panel, or be controlled automatically through pointing at the surface or point to be lit, e.g. with a video camera (marker/visual system), a beam of light (laser), ultra sound, infrared radiation, radio frequency (transmitter/receiver) or similar, where this is connected to a processing unit that calculates and controls the light towards said point or surface.
It this connection, it should be noted that lamps are known which can direct light at a working area by using a reflecting indicator (a control electrode) in the working area, cf. DE 32 43 710.
The above publication describes a system of relative positioning, as the reflecting unit (indicator, which determines the point at which the light source should be directed) must be hit by the sensor system and then be xe2x80x9chookedxe2x80x9d on in order to then pull/control the light by moving the indicator. The present invention however, aims to provide absolute positioning, so that if the pointer is brought to the desired point, the focus of the lighting unit will come together in this point.
The module unit may be connected up to several module units in order to form a controlled cluster, or some of the modules are selected to form a controlled cluster.